Rankings Update: Two To Go In Masters Race

There are just two counting events to go in the Race to the Johnstone's Paint Masters with several players vying for coveted spots at Alexandra Palace in January.

Next week's International Championship in Nanjing, China (November 3-10) and then the UK Championship in York (November 23 to December 1) are the counting events, then the top 16 seeds will earn a place in snooker's biggest invitation event. 

Neil Robertson's run to the quarter-finals of last week's BetVictor Northern Ireland Open leaves him in 15th place in the race. Jak Jones is 16th, but hasn't qualified for Nanjing so will have to hope he isn't caught by the chasing pack. Barry Hawkins is 17th, £17,850 behind Jones, with Xiao Guodong a further £2,550 back. Either of them could overtake Jones by reaching the semi-finals in China.

International Championship prize money
Winner: £175,000
Runner-up: £75,000
Semi-finals: £33,000
Quarter-finals: £22,000 
Last 16: £14,000
Last 32: £9,000
Last 64: £5,000
High Break: £5,000
Total £825,000

The International Championship is the last counting event in the race to be a top 16 seed for the UK Championship in York. All other players will head to the qualifying rounds, which run from November 16-21 in Leicester. 

Robertson is 16th on that list, with Tom Ford 17th, but Ford failed to qualify for Nanjing so he is out of the running. Xiao is 18th, trailing Robertson by £11,550, so he must reach the quarter-finals to have a chance. Hawkins is 19th, a further £7,450 back. 

Kyren Wilson's victory at the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open in Belfast was his eighth ranking title and was worth £100,000. He remains second in the Johnstone’s Paint World Rankings but narrows the gap on leader Judd Trump, who he beat 9-3 in the final, to £466,200.

Elliot Slessor reached the semi-finals and he climbs from 35th to 32nd, while Pang Junxu was the other losing semi-finalist and he climbs one place to 26th.

On the  Johnstone’s Paint One-Year list, Wilson remains second, £341,200 behind Trump. Slessor is up from 18th to 12th while Pang jumps from 17th 11th. 

As usual, the top 32 will qualify for the World Grand Prix in Hong Kong, then the top 16 will head to the Players Championship in Telford and the top 12 will progress to the Tour Championship in Manchester. Star names currently outside the top 32 include Luca Brecel (70th) and Ding Junhui (90th).

Wilson leaps to second place in the BetVictor Series rankings with £109,000, just behind Robertson who has £113,200, with Trump in third place on £58,200. There are two more counting events in that series - the BetVictor Scottish Open in December and BetVictor Welsh Open in February. The leading money winner will then earn an extra £150,000 bonus.

The list of players for the Champion of Champions (November 11-17) is taking shape as 13 players are confirmed. The remaining three names will be the winner of the International Championship (if not already qualified) and the next best players (either two or three depending on whether there is a new winner in Nanjing) on the Johnstone’s Paint World Rankings list as it stands on November 11th.

Having made six centuries in Belfast, Trump heads the 2024/25 century breaks tally with 33, ahead of Shaun Murphy on 26. The first player to reach 100 centuries this season will earn a £100,000 bonus.